A Cycle of Fate
by Bluejay Blaze
Summary: After dying at Marineford, Ace finds himself reincarnated, but some things never change. His first caretaker is still his grandfather, he's still raised by criminals, and he's still the son of the Pirate King. Oh, and the Straw Hats always have been, and always will be, the strangest crew on the seas. Mentions of ZoLu and genderswapping courtesy of Iva-chan.
1. Chapter 1

Flames. Blood. Pain. Portgas D. Ace died on the battlefield, saving the life of his younger brother. It was preferable to being executed, he supposed, though he couldn't speak for his comfort. Blocking a magma fist with his body was the most painful thing Ace had ever done. He was made of fire, yet he could still feel the heat, burning a dripping hole in his chest. In front of him, Luffy's eyes were filled with fear and confusion. They morphed slowly to mirror the pain both brothers felt as Ace struggled to voice his last words. Yes, Portgas D. Ace died on the battlefield.

He was six months old when he remembered.

 **-xXx-**

A scream filled the nursery. Or at least, Ace thought it was a nursery. He couldn't see well enough in the dark to tell. But what he was lying in sure looked like a crib, and a baby's mobile dangled above his head, so he would assume this was a nursery.

Chubby fists waved uselessly in the air as Ace tried to figure out what was going on. He remembered dying as if it had just happened, or as if he'd just woken from a dream of it. His body didn't feel like his own, nor would it respond to any but his most broad and clumsy of whims. Even attempting to sit up merely resulted in him flopping back against his blanket.

A door opened, allowing a beam of light to enter. Along with the light came a man. He seemed huge, ten or more times Ace's size. The confused pirate found himself picked up gently and held against a broad chest. He screamed again; it seemed the only thing he was capable of doing.

"There, there." The man's voice was awkward, as if he'd never tried to comfort anyone before. Shaggy black and grey hair waved in and out of reach as the man rocked Ace back and forth. "It's okay little one, you're safe. Grandpa's here."

Well, that made Ace shut up. The only person to ever refer to himself as Ace's grandfather was crazy old Garp, who this was certainly _not_. There was something familiar about that voice though. Ace looked closer at the face above him. It was blockish and rather harsh, with narrow eyes and prickly stubble. A series of geometric tattoos crept up the man's left. Ace was sure he'd seen this man before, but he couldn't remember where.

The man sighed, obviously pleased that Ace had stopped screaming. He continued to hold the confused little pirate though, still rocking as he started to speak. "Honestly, I don't know what your father was thinking, leaving you with me. He knows from experience I'm not the nurturing type. And even if I was, a Revolutionary base is no place for a baby."

Ace grumbled and, lacking motor skills for anything finer, smacked his hands together before waving them around. Unlike his body, his mind was moving a mile a minute. He wasn't known for being the smartest of pirates, but nor was he the dumbest. It didn't take him long to figure out what was going on.

He'd been reincarnated. He was a bloody baby.

The man who was holding him put Ace back down in the crib with a wry smile. "I suppose a pirate ship would be an even worse place for you though. Well, little Ace, it looks like we'll have to make the best of this. Now go to sleep, okay?"

 _Well,_ Ace thought, _at least my name's the same._

 **-xXx-**

No one ever bothered to tell Ace who his father was, who'd apparently left him for the Revolutionaries to look after. Then again, as far as they knew, Ace was a baby and couldn't understand them. So all he knew about his family was that his father was a pirate (Again!) and his grandfather was a tattooed old man. He never even got to hear his primary caretaker's name, due to how often he seemed to spend sleeping. Either babies slept more than Ace had always though, or his new body had narcolepsy just like his old.

Ace worked hard as the months passed to regain mobility. He sat, wiggled, crawled, and walked at earlier ages than he probably should have, often through sheer force of will. This seemed to amuse Grandpa to no end. It became even more amusing to the old man when Ace managed to toddle into a meeting of Revolutionary officers, only to run screaming from the attentions of what at first appeared to be a giant face. Hiding behind his grandfather's leg, Ace soon recognized the okama who'd been with Luffy at Marineford. This did _not_ make the giant face any less scary.

He took more time with words. Ace wanted to shock the old man with his "first" word, purely for his own amusement. He had nothing against this grandfather, at least not yet. The man was as awkwardly doting as Garp had been violent.

It took several weeks of practicing when he was alone to get his pronunciation right. Like his limbs, his childish tongue and vocal chords just didn't want to cooperate at first. But eventually Ace got the muscles under control, not just for his chosen word, but enough to actually talk a little.

He waited for the right time to speak. It had to be done when it would have the maximum impact; in other words, early in the morning, when Grandpa had just had his coffee. The old man would be awake enough to understand, but still groggy enough to react. Grandpa had an annoying habit of being on guard at all other times. Speaking in the afternoon would yield merely a proud smirk, even if Ace started singing opera.

So breakfast time it was. Ace swallowed a mouthful of applesauce, pondering how to keep the spoon Grandpa was holding out of his mouth long enough to speak. Eventually he settled for flailing wildly, hitting the spoon so it flew into the air, spattering the ceiling with applesauce. Grandpa chuckled.

"You're a strong brat Ace, just like your father."

Ace grinned as Grandpa retrieved the spoon and cleaned it off. Taking a deep breath, the tiny pirate shouted as loud as he could. "Landlubber!"

Grandpa froze and looked at Ace, nearly dropping the spoon again. "What was that?"

"Landlubber!"

"Well, that's odd. Where'd you even hear that one? I'd have thought your first word would be 'revolution,' what with all the times you've followed me to meetings."

That was... not what he expected. Ace frowned and crossed his arms. "Really Gramps? I pick the most random word I know and you still don't react?"

 _Clatter._ There went the spoon.

"Um, Ace?" The tiny pirate saw his grandfather pale. "How long have you been able to talk, exactly?"

"This long!" Ace stretched his hands as far apart as he could reach.

Okay, maybe he'd taken it a little too far. Watching Grandpa faint wasn't fun at all. And aside from screaming for help, Ace could do nothing. Not only was he too little, he was trapped in his highchair anyway.

He really hoped Grandpa hadn't been hurt as he fell.

 **-xXx-**

Ace's father never seemed to visit- not even for his son's first birthday. The tiny pirate was starting to resent the man, just as he had his _first_ biological parent. Not that it was particularly easy to resent someone when you didn't know their name or face, but it was the thought that counted. And Ace couldn't wait to sail the high seas again, if only to track the man down. One life of absentee pirate parents was bad enough, thank you very much.

A few days after Ace's first birthday, a strange man came to the base to speak with Grandpa. This man was much younger, blond and scarred and well-dressed. Like Grandpa, he gave off a sense of familiarity. Ace was sure he'd seen both of them in his last life. Now that he thought about it, _too_ many years couldn't have passed since he died. After all, Ivankov looked the same as ever.

The tiny pirate ran up to his grandfather and waved his arms, interrupting the men's conversation. It couldn't have been that important though, since Grandpa smiled and picked Ace up instead of scolding him. Ace looked closely at the strange blond man. Chuckling, Grandpa introduced him.

"Ace, this is your uncle, Sabo. He's been on an undercover mission in the North Blue for the last year. Sabo, this is your brother's little boy, Ace."

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Ace looked closer at the wavy blond hair and blue eyes. They looked right- but that was impossible! Forgetting himself (not that he cared), Ace pointed an accusing finger at his "uncle."

"Not possible! You're dead!"

Both Sabo and Grandpa looked at Ace like he was crazy. Sabo waved his hands vaguely. "Um, no, I'm not."

"Yes you are!" Ace couldn't feel his grandfather's arms anymore. Instead, he felt ropes and tree bark and angry grief. Feelings he'd long since gotten over for Luffy's sake came back full force, overwhelming him. "A Tenryuubito sunk your boat! Dogra saw it!"

"A Ten- No. Well, yes, they shot me, but Dragon saved me from the wreckage. But how could you know any of that? And how do you know Dogra?" Sabo looked to Grandpa in confusion.

The old man shook his head. "I never told him."

Both adults looked at Ace with strange expressions. The tiny pirate wanted to run away, wanted to hide and scream and punch something. But Grandpa's hold on him was too strong. He settled instead for burying his face in Grandpa's shoulder, scream muffled by a green cloak.

"Ace." Sabo's voice was gentle. But at the same time it hurt, because he could tell now, it was definitely _his Sabo_ , which was confusing and _wrong_ , no matter how happy it should have made him. "Ace, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I need you to answer truthfully, okay?"

"O-okay." Ace removed his face from Grandpa's shoulder.

"When's your birthday?"

"January 1st." The same in both lives. Ace didn't mind too much.

"What have you always wanted to be when you grow up?"

"Pirate."

"Who rules the bandits of Mt. Corvo?"

"Dadan."

"Does the name Luffy mean anything to you?"

"Little brother." Ace couldn't stop the fond smile from crossing his face. "Crybaby. Rubber. Reckless idiot. Straw hat. Pirate King."

Sabo snatched Ace out of Grandpa's arms and swung him around before hugging him tight. "Ace! How-? This shouldn't be possible!"

Grandpa looked thoughtful. "It would explain why his language skills are so advanced."

"Just woke up one day and remembered." Ace could feel his face turning red. "So- this is real? Sabo's not dead?"

"No, I'm not dead."

Ace nodded. "And how's Luffy? Last time I saw him was- not so good."

"Lu's fine. He and his crew make almost as much trouble for the Wold Government as we Revolutionaries do; it's beautiful." Then realization hit Sabo like a ton of bricks. It was funny to watch, and would've been funnier still if Ace knew what Sabo was realizing. "Wait... Dragon-sama, you said Ace was my brother's little boy. You mean-?"

Grandpa started to smirk as the realization hit Ace too. Oh no, this couldn't be happening. He was reborn as-

"Yes. Sabo, meet your nephew, Monkey D. Ace."

"Gyaaa!" Ace screamed and clutched his head, emotions warring inside him. "You mean my bastard absentee father who dumped me in a Revolutionary base is my adorable baby brother? How messed up can this get?"

"Pretty messed up," Sabo agreed with a chuckle, "Especially since this is your second time being the son of the Pirate King."

"What?!"

 **-xXx-**

It took years for Ace to wheedle the whole story out of various Revolutionaries. The story was a strange one- somehow, just what he'd expect from his little-brother-cum-father. Apparently Ivankov and Luffy had gotten into a drunken fight at some point that ended with the rubber man becoming a rubber woman for a year. Thanks to Luffy's refusal to put his relationship with his first mate on hold (and the fact that neither Luffy nor Zoro bothered with condoms, ever), Ace had been conceived.

The two knuckleheads were just smart enough to know that neither of them knew anything about taking care of a baby, and that a pirate ship was no place for an infant. So they'd decided to leave Ace with Dragon until he was older. Honestly, it sounded rather like what Dragon himself had done, leaving Luffy with Garp so he wouldn't be in danger as a child of the Revolution. At least Dragon was slightly more sane than the Fist of Love.

According to Sabo, the plan was for Luffy's crew to take Ace with them starting when he was seven. They would train him, and when he was seventeen, he would be free to either join Luffy's crew or set out to start a crew of his own. Ace had shrugged at the news. He wasn't sure if the Straw Hats would be considered better or worse guardians than a bunch of mountain bandits.

So Ace trained. The Revolutionaries already thought he was a weird kid, so his antics teaching this body to wield a staff (pipe) barely made them shrug. He was able to convince Sabo to spar with him right away, but no others. And sparring with Sabo was frustrating. Ace remembered being evenly matched with his brother in his first life. Now, Sabo was an adult with more than twenty years of fighting experience while Ace was tiny and clumsy. He could _feel_ Sabo holding back, yet Ace still couldn't keep up.

He would've loved to blame Luffy for that. Stupid brother-father; it was bad enough Ace didn't have his freckles in this life, Luffy had to pass on his short, weak, crybaby genes too? Except Ace knew Luffy wasn't weak anymore. He'd seen him- been proud of him- at Marineford.

And, of course, there was no chance of getting his powers back in this life. Not unless he wanted to kill his brother-uncle. Ace couldn't decide whether to laugh or punch Sabo when the elder had revealed the fate of the Mera Mera no Mi. So Ace was stuck fruitless, because he sure as Hell wasn't going to pick another unless it was _really_ good. He'd like his fire powers.

 **-xXx-**

On his seventh birthday, Ace woke at the crack of dawn to see a colourful ship floating gracefully towards the base. Its lion-flower figurehead seemed to wish him a happy birthday. That was all it took for Ace to know. He dressed as quickly as he could and raced down to the docks. Sabo was already there, waiting to help bring the ship in.

Ace wasn't sure how he felt about this. Should he be angry at Luffy for leaving him here? Pleased his little brother had developed some semblance of common sense? Should he treat Luffy like a father? Should he tell the rubber-brained idiot about his memories?

Sabo must've seen the questions in Ace's eyes. The blond smiled and ruffled the tiny pirate's hair. "You should tell him. After that, just be yourself. This is Luffy we're talking about, after all. Stranger things have happened to him."

Ace frowned. "But what if-?" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Luckily Sabo didn't need him to.

"Like I said, this is Luffy. He loves you, both as his son, and as his big brother. What makes you think he won't love the combination?"

"He left me."

"He left you on dry land, where he didn't have to worry about you rolling off the ship and drowning. He left you with the Revolutionaries, the one place the World Government would be least likely to find you. He left you with his own father, and with me. Luffy was just doing what he thought was best."

There was no chance for Ace to reply. A red and gold blur rocketed off the ship to land on the dock- or rather, on Sabo- with a crash. Giggling madly, the colourful missile resolved itself into a familiar shape.

"Heya Sabo!" Luffy was just as Ace remembered him, and yet not. He was still childish, but not as much so, his eyes holding traces of grief and responsibility behind the playfulness. A slight hint of stubble graced the slightly narrowed, matured face. Ace supposed it made sense; according to the timeline he'd been given, Luffy was in his mid-thirties now. But at least that silly straw hat still adorned his head. Ace wasn't sure what he'd have done if he saw Luffy without it.

"Hey Lu. Now get off."

Giggling, Luffy stood, pulling Sabo up after him. The pair made quick work of docking the ship. Ace hung back as they did so, unsure of himself. It felt _wrong_ , being there after he'd missed so much of Luffy's life.

The crew had disembarked (And was that a skeleton?) before Luffy noticed they weren't alone. Ace suddenly found himself scooped effortlessly into the air, flung up and caught again like a stuffed animal. Honestly, Luffy was lucky for the whole crazy reincarnation thing. A normal child would've been freaking out.

"How's my little Ace? You're getting so big!" Ace glared at everyone in the vicinity. Luffy's crew- including the swordsman who'd provided the other half of Ace's genes- chuckled. Sabo cleared his throat.

"Lu, you haven't been here since he was a baby. Introduce yourself properly."

"Right!" Luffy didn't put Ace down, but at least he stopped throwing him. "I'm your dad, Zoro's your other dad, Nami and Robin are your aunts, and Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Franky, and Brook are your uncles."

It was a horrible introduction. Luffy was _so_ lucky Ace already knew what was going on. The tiny pirate smirked and did his best to bow to Luffy's crew.

"Having a little brother who's a bit on the slow side makes his big brothers worry. Thanks for looking after him."

"Eh?!" The looks on the Straw Hats' faces were priceless. Ace wished he had a denden mushi to record them. He felt Luffy stiffen in confusion.

"Ne, Ace, what do you mean? Did you find a little brother?"

Ace squirmed in his brother-father's hold until he could face Luffy. He managed to get one arm free to punch at the rubber idiot, but since Ace hadn't managed to use Haki in this body yet, it did little good. "You idiot! A big brother's supposed to protect the little brother, not the other way around!" Tears welled up, and Ace couldn't keep them from falling. "Why- What possessed you to come after me? I almost lost you?"

The little pirate buried his face in Luffy's chest, his tears soaking into the old burn scar there. Luffy, for his part, was rigid with confusion. But apparently the gears in his head were more prone to turning these days, as the rubber man slowly turned to Sabo.

"Ne- Is Ace- our Ace, somehow?" Wow, that was fast. Then again, the less logical the situation, the more quickly Luffy tended to grasp it.

"Yeah. You should've seen it the first time he met me; that's when we found out. He started freaking out about Dogra seeing the Tenryuubito kill me."

A dark cast came over Luffy. "That's right, he died before you remembered." Tears dripped down on top of Ace's head. They were accompanied by a sad giggle, as Luffy pulled Ace back to get a better look.

"Shishishi, who's the crybaby now?"

"Shut up!" Ace sniffled loudly. "It's your genes doing this to me anyways! Stupid brother-father!"

Luffy pulled Ace into a tight hug, rubbing his back gently. He bulled forwards with his typical obliviousness, which Ace found far more comforting than the caresses. "So, Ace, you still wanna be a pirate?"

"Of course!" Ace dried his face on the corner of Luffy's shirt. "I'm gonna be the most notorious pirate of all! More famous than you _or_ Roger!"

"Shishishi, good luck with that. You've gotta beat me first!"

"What are you talking about? I always beat you!"

Ace looked up at Luffy, who had a soft smile on his face. That smile was enough to make the tiny pirate deflate. But it was the words that came next that reminded him of how much things had changed.

"Not yet Ace." Luffy suddenly sounded like the adult he was. Ace was pretty sure this was still a rare occurrence. "It's gonna be a while before you're up to tackling the King of the Pirates. But that's okay, because if it's a big brother's job to protect his little brother, then it's a _father's_ job to protect his _son_. So let me protect you, just for a little while, okay?"

In his mind's eye, Ace saw another figure briefly overlap Luffy's, a large figure with a massive white mustache. The tiny pirate nodded. "Yeah, okay."

 **-xXx-**

Three months after joining the Straw Hat Crew, Ace met what was left of the Whitebeard Pirates. Marco's Yonko status did not protect him against the onslaught of pineapple jokes.

 **-xXx-**

Ace got his first bounty at ten. Like most things any Straw Hat did, it was at least partially an accident. Ace was in denial of the fact that what Sanji called his "marimo genes" had altered his sense of direction and had wandered off. Unfortunately, it turned out that everyone was right; being related to Zoro had tilted his internal compass at a very odd angle.

Lost in a strange town, Ace had stumbled into a small marine base. Specifically, he somehow ended up in an area that was supposedly off-limits and locked at all times due to sensitive military experimentation. Ace couldn't figure out how he'd gotten there, as he'd just been looking for a washroom and hadn't passed through any locked doors.

The marines didn't believe his story and locked him up to await questioning. Apparently their commander was busy. Of course, Ace had places to be- it was almost dinner time. He had to get back to the ship, not wait for some marine commander, otherwise his bottomless pit of a brother-father would eat all the food. So Ace broke out of the base.

Breaking out of the base turned into breaking the base, which somehow turned into a massive, one-sided beatdown of the marines when Luffy and crew appeared. The Straw Hats showed the world on no uncertain terms that messing with little Ace was a very bad thing for anyone who valued their safety, sanity, and limbs.

It was Ace's first time in this life fighting alongside Luffy. Before he'd always been confined to the Sunny when a battle went down. But despite all the time that had passed, and the differences in Ace's form, the pair were in as perfect sync as they'd been at Marineford. True, Luffy had to cover for Ace more often than he would've before, but Ace didn't mind. He couldn't wait to see what it would be like if Sabo joined them.

Three days later, a bounty poster came out offering a reward of 9,000,000 beris for the live capture of "Lost Boy" Ace, son of "Straw Hat" Luffy. The tiny pirate wasn't sure whether to be grateful that Fleet Admiral Coby refused to mark children for death (no matter who their parents were), or angry about the stupid nickname.

 **-xXx-**

By the time he was seventeen, the world had stopped seeing Ace as Luffy's child and started seeing him as his own insane, annoying idiot. This was in part due to the fact that the government had never really figured out what the relationship between the two Ds was, as it alternated between father-son, brotherly, best friends, and rivals often literally at the drop of a hat. Ace's tendency to get lost in and destroy marine bases also helped.

With a bounty of 124,000,000 beris, Ace was considered a supernova. He still had the second-lowest bounty in the Straw Hat Crew (Chopper, at 1,000 beris, was lowest). As his birthday came and went, Ace looked for any sign from Luffy about whether his father-brother wanted him to stay, or to set out on his own adventure. There was nothing. For someone who couldn't lie, Luffy had sure developed a good poker face.

Eventually, Ace was reduced to asking. His question just made Luffy laugh and ruffle his hair.

"I don't want Ace to go anywhere! You're a Straw Hat now! But Ace needs to be free to make his own choices, so as long as you're happy, I'm good. Just don't go getting caught again, ne? I don't think Coby would be happy if I smashed Impel Down again to get you out."

Ace left for the East Blue the next morning. He popped over to Dawn Island for a few days to see Makino and Dadan (both now elderly) before starting to gather a crew. Several months later, a bunch of rookies calling themselves the Spade Pirates slipped past Admiral Smoker at Loguetown and splashed their way into the Grand Line. The Spades proceeded to confuse the world by allying with the Straw Hat, Heart, Whitebeard, and Barto Club crews, except apparently on Thursdays. On Thursdays, "Lost Boy" Ace would attack "Straw Hat" Luffy, claiming that it was time to step out of his shadow and babbling nonsense about stupid brother-fathers with lame rubber powers.

Both pirates came away from such encounters laughing. They also appeared to have some sort of "100 fights per day" rule set up for the occasions. The rest of the world eventually decided that they didn't want to touch the sanity of anyone within six degrees of the Straw Hat or Spade Pirates with a ten foot pole.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, a few readers wanted to see mini-Ace's first meeting with the Whitebeards in more detail. Inspiration for that- as well as another meeting- has struck.**

 _Puru-puru-puru-puru_

Ace was looking through one of Nami's maps when the den-den mushi rang. No one else was around, so the tiny pirate picked up the receiver. "Hello? You've reached the Straw Hat Pirates."

"Who's this? I don't recognize your voice, yoi. Has his idiotic majesty been recruiting again?"

 _You may not recognize my voice, but I definitely know yours,_ Ace thought. He smiled at the den-den mushi. _Let the pranks begin_. "Marco the Phoenix, right? Dad's bugging Uncle Sanji for food right now. Did you want me to get him?"

"So the spawn's finally joined the crew," Marco mumbled. Ace was uncertain if he was meant to hear that part. The phoenix sighed and spoke up.

"Yes please, Ace. And your Aunt Nami too, yoi."

Ace looked at the den-den mushi in shock. "How'd you know my name?" Luffy hadn't even told his own crew mates about his brothers until they met; no way had the rubber brain gone all proud papa in front of another crew.

The face of the den-den mushi took on a morose expression. "Lucky guess, yoi. You're named for an uncle of yours who died; I can't imagine Straw Hat naming his son anything else."

"And what if I'd been a girl?"

"You would've been Anne, yoi."

Okay, it was official. Ace had the same father in both lives. Luffy had to be Roger's reincarnation; unlike Ace, he was just too dumb to remember it. That thought made the tiny pirate question things from both lives that he didn't want to think about, so he put it out of his mind. Instead, he raised his voice to the earsplitting level all Straw Hats were practically required to manage.

"Oi! Dad! Aunt Nami! Den-den call from Marco!"

Luffy entered the room seconds later, looking askance at Ace. The little pirate rarely referred to his brother-father as "dad" while on the ship. The whole crew knew of his unique circumstances after all. He only used that title when they were out in public. Ace held a finger to his lips as he handed Luffy the receiver, prompting a rubber grin. Nami entered as the king greeted the phoenix.

"Heya Marco! Whatcha want?"

"Hello Straw Hat. I know this is odd, yoi, but the boys and I need to meet you at Twin Graves Island. It's important."

"Twin Graves?" Luffy's face was uncharacteristically somber. "But it's not time yet, not until June."

When Marco spoke again, his voice came out pained. "I know, yoi. But someone's desecrated them and taken the flags down; we figured you'd want to help us find the bastards."

Luffy nodded. "Of course. I'll be there in... Nami, how fast can we get to Twin Graves?"

"Three days."

"Okay. See you in three days Marco."

 **xXx**

When the Thousand Sunny docked next to the Son of Moby Dick, Ace was practically vibrating with excitement. He couldn't wait to see his old crew again! He almost managed to get to the beach before Nami grabbed him.

"Monkey D. Ace! I don't know where you think you're going, but you're not going there without a shirt!"

"You didn't mind in Alabasta," the tiny pirate grumbled. Nami's face flushed at the memory.

"Um... Yes, well, you were a grown man then, and capable of making your own decisions. Also, fire can't get sunburns. I'm _not_ dealing with you whining and peeling all over the place."

"I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions," Ace sulked. Nami scowled and tapped her foot.

"Really? Because that didn't work out so well last week."

"How was I supposed to know-?"

"Or the week before."

"That was an-!"

"Marineford."

Oh. Point taken. Ace ran back to the boys' cabin and sifted through his clothes chest. Finally, he found the shirt he was looking for: a bright turquoise monstrosity covered in dancing, anthropomorphic pineapples. Giggling, the tiny pirate snuck into the kitchen and grabbed and actual pineapple from the fridge. The lock, meant to stop hungry Ds from raiding for food, really only worked on Luffy.

 _Seriously, how has he not figured out that Sanji's code is 'I love ladies?'_

Ace joined the rest of the crew on the beach, bouncing at Luffy's side. Shortly after, they were met by several familiar faces from the Moby. Tears filled his eyes as he recognized Marco, Vista, Jozu, Namur, Haruta, and many others. Ace struggled to keep his composure. Of course, he was going to tell Marco his identity eventually, but he wanted to have some fun first.

The tiny pirate made a show of looking from his pineapple to Marco and back. Then he looked up at Luffy. "Dad, why's he called the Phoenix if he ate the Pineapple-Pineapple Fruit?"

Dead silence met Ace's words. Then, in perfect unison, every pirate on the beach (other than Marco) started laughing. The captain of the Whitebeard Pirates just groaned, burying his face in his hands. Only Ace heard his mumbling under the roar of laughter.

"Must not kill his idiotic majesty's son... Must not kill his idiotic majesty's son... This family exists to irritate me, yoi."

One by one, all the pirates stopped laughing. Luffy wiped tears away from his eyes. "Show him Marco."

"No."

"Please?" Ace looked away from his brother-father, because that was just _wrong_. No thirty-four year old man should be able to pull off the puppy-dog face _at all_ , let alone that effectively. Marco sighed.

"Fine." Blue flames flickered up as wings sprouted gold. Within seconds, a beautiful bird sat on the beach. Ace stared with as much awe as he had the first time he'd seen the transformation. There was no denying that the phoenix was glorious. Then the tiny pirate turned to Sanji.

"Uncle Sanji, can we have pineapple chicken for dinner?"

Marco squawked, turning back into a human. "I'm not a chicken, yoi!"

"Of course not!" Ace beamed at the indignant captain. "Uncle Sanji's pineapple chicken is seriously the best though. What, you don't think I'd recognize a phoenix when I saw one, _first division commander_?"

Unlike anything the marines had ever done, Ace's words were able to send all the Whitebeard Pirates crashing to the ground. He giggled and looked up at Luffy. "Thanks for playing along Lu."

"Shishishi! Of course!"

Dusting sand off his face, Marco stood. "Alright Straw Hat, spill. Why did the spawn call me that? You're up to something, yoi, I can see it on your face."

"Silly Marco. Ace is _Ace_."

The tiny pirate watched as things dawned on his former crew mate. Honestly, Ace was impressed. He hadn't known Marco (or anyone other than himself, Sabo, and possibly Zoro) could be that fluent in Luffy logic. Then again, having the rubber brain for a king probably did that to people.

"How?"

Luffy shrugged and stuck a finger up his nose. "Eh, mystery souls. Anyway, you said something happened to the graves?"

Marco nodded. "Come see for yourself."

The two crews marched up a great hill. Ace cursed his tiny legs, as he had to make three steps for every one made by anyone else. Eventually Chopper took pity on him and let Ace ride.

At the top, Ace's heart froze in his chest. Two massive tombstones met his eyes, topped with very familiar articles and names. Someone had painted crudely over the worn rock in places, but he barely noticed. Tears filled his eyes as he looked on the last resting place of his father and his old body.

A rubber hand plucked a faded orange hat from one tomb and plopped it down on Ace's head. It was much too big. The tiny pirate snapped out of his shock, tilting the hat back so he could see. He was met with a view of Marco offering him his old necklace and dagger. Ace accepted the familiar items and put them on. Somehow, they made him feel complete.

Luffy patted his head, then crouched to examine the paintings. Robin and Marco joined him. After a few minutes, the pirate king growled.

" _Marines_. I'm gonna have a talk with Coby. A long one."

"He probably didn't know," Zoro grunter. Luffy stood, shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter. Coby knows what this island means to me; he'll help find and deal with who did it. Wanna come Marco?"

The phoenix shook his head. "No thanks. I don't have the same relationship as you with the fleet admiral, yoi."

Shrugging, Luffy signaled for his crew to return to the Sunny. "Suit yourself."

 **xXx**

After his last life, Ace was understandably apprehensive about going to Marineford. Luffy, however, was not to be dissuaded. During the voyage to get there was the most serious Ace had seen his brother-father. Including during the War of the Best.

The Straw Hats weren't, despite their captain's image, completely stupid. They anchored the Sunny 72 gomu-gomus from shore- just close enough for Luffy to stretch over without leaving them completely vulnerable. Then the rubber captain, along with Ace and Zoro, left to speak with Fleet Admiral Coby while the rest of the crew guarded the ship.

Seeing a combination of resigned exasperation from the older marines, and abject terror from the new recruits, Ace guessed that this was more common than most people would expect.

Luffy, Ace, and Zoro crashed through a window, earning an angry yelp from the person they landed on. Bright pink hair immediately drew Ace's eye. The new fleet admiral was certainly different than he'd been expecting. Around Luffy's age, with a sense of softness and good humour that matched well with Luffy's... Luffy-ness.

Of course, as fleet admiral, he was also capable of acting like a responsible adult. Sort of. "Luffy! I told you not to do that! If you have to visit me, come through the door like a normal person!" It went without saying that telling the pirate king to stop visiting his friend altogether was out of the question.

Luffy pouted. "Aw, but then your men all try and stop me, and I have to beat them up. I don't have time for that today!"

Coby quickly caught on to the sadness in Luffy's eyes. "What happened?"

"Someone painted on Ace-nii and Whitebeard's graves. They tried to make it look like a rival crew, but Robin says it was marine issue."

Something dark flashed in the fleet admiral's eyes. "Did she send a sample with you? I can use that to find what base they came from." He sighed. "Honestly... I can't be angry when they try and capture you, but this... Disrespecting the dead is too much. I don't care how much the Gorosei hate your family."

Luffy handed Coby a packet of paint chips Robin had scraped from the tombstones. Then he smiled. "Speaking of family, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

Before the pirate king could say anything more, the wall burst open. Instincts from Ace's last life told him to run. Since there was nowhere to go, he dove behind Coby's desk. All three adults accompanied him.

"Fleet Admiral Brat! I know you're in here! How's my favourite apprentice?"

Coby paled. "Maybe if we ignore him, he'll go away," the pink-haired man whispered. Luffy shook his head.

"He knows... Gramps always knows..."

Sure enough, weathered hands descended over the desk to grasp two pirates and the fleet admiral. Ace, on account of his small size, was missed. The tiny pirate peered fearfully from behind the desk. Garp looked almost exactly the same as he had when Ace died. Seventeen years of retirement had obviously been good to him.

"Amazing! You've caught my wayward grandson! Admiral Smokey will be jealous!"

"I didn't capture Luffy; he's here on business. And put me down."

Amazingly, Garp complied, setting all three of his captives on the floor. The old marine nodded. "Good. I'd hate to have to execute another grandson. Idiots should've joined the marines like I told them too; then Sabo'd be in this seat right now."

That made Luffy indignant. "Why Sabo, huh? If I'd been a marine, I'd have been just as strong as I am now!"

"Takes more than strength to be fleet admiral, brat. Sabo's the smart one." Suddenly, Garp froze and looked at the desk. Ace shrank into the floor, hoping futilely that he wouldn't be noticed.

"Why do I sense Ace behind that desk? Jeez, maybe Dadan's right; I _am_ going senile."

Unable to resist, Ace peeked his head out and took the bait. "I've been telling you that for years, crazy geezer."

Dead. Silence. Garp and Coby both stared at Ace while Zoro smirked and Luffy stifled laughter. It took a moment for Ace to remember that Fleet Admiral Coby had already been his grandfather's apprentice at Marineford. He'd barely noticed the flash of pink hair.

"Brats... Did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

"Depends. Am I seeing who I think I'm seeing? I thought he had freckles though..."

Luffy's laughter could no longer be contained. The rubber man was soon rolling on the ground, his mirth shaking the room. Zoro idly rested a foot on his captain's leg to keep Luffy from somehow managing to roll out the window or something. The swordsman's smirk broadened.

"Fleet Admiral, grandfather-in-law, meet our son, Monkey D. Ace."

Garp and Coby squinted in unison. "Oh. Sure looks like Ace did." The pink-haired man froze in fear when he realized he'd said the same words at the same time as his mentor. Then Garp grabbed the back of Ace's shirt and lifted him into the air.

"Come to join the marines eh? It'll be a little difficult with this scoundrel as your old man, but we'll manage. Good choice!"

"Put me down!" Ace squirmed out of his shirt, landing on Luffy's stomach. "You and your training can go to Hell, crazy old man!"

"Is that any way to speak to your great-grandfather? Feel my fist of love!" Milliseconds later, Ace confirmed that Garp's punches were just as strong as they had been on Dawn Island all those years ago. Was the geezer immortal or something?

Luffy stopped laughing and stood up. "Gramps, don't hurt Ace. And you were right the first time: Ace is _Ace_. It's a mystery soul thing."

Those words resulted in something Ace had never imagined in his wildest dreams. Garp started _crying_. The old marine grabbed the tiny pirate in a bone-crushing hug, mumbling incomprehensible regrets and apologies through the fountain of tears. Ace patted his (great-)grandfather's head awkwardly.

"Um... It's alright? I don't blame you Gramps. It was Teach who caught me and the Gorosei who ordered me killed." Ace's heart plummeted at the memories. "And it was my own fault in the end. If I hadn't reacted to Akainu... Hadn't given him time to get to Luffy'n me... I wasted everyone's efforts at saving me. Crap. I'm so sorry..." By the end of it, Ace too was in tears. Actually, everyone was except Zoro.

Ace was pretty sure that something in his swordsman-father's so-called 'marimo genes' meant Zoro could only cry when physically faced with death. And no, he didn't understand how that would work. Mystery tears. Then again, Zoro was also the only one who hadn't been _there_.

Coby was the first to collect himself. "I'll have the samples analyzed by tomorrow morning Luffy. Would you like to stay here, or should I sent the results by mail coo?"

Luffy looked at Ace, still clasped firmly in Garp's arms. "Eh, I think we'll wait here. Gramps doesn't look like he'll let go of Ace any time soon, which probably means we're safe from fists of love for now."

Ace was instantly dropped in favour of proving Luffy wrong. Garp swung his fist into a rubber head, sending the pirate king crashing into the floor. Luffy jumped to his feet with an indignant yell.

"Jeez Gramps, what was that for?"

"Ace is seven! When were you going to tell me I had a great-grandchild?"

"I didn't even see my dad until I was seventeen! You could wait!"

"Your father gave you to me to raise!"

"And I gave Ace to dad! Family tradition!"

The fist of love made contact again. Acting on old instincts, Ace jumped up in his (great-)grandfather's face. "Don't hit Luffy!"

A typical D family squabble immediately broke out. For a moment, Ace could almost believe they were back on Mount Colubo. At least, he could until a haki-infused fist hit all three Monkey D heads.

"If you're gonna fight, do it somewhere else! I just got this place fixed up from Luffy's last visit!"

"Shishishi, sorry Coby." Luffy rolled into a sitting position, as if he hadn't just been fighting one of the greatest heroes in marine history. Ace stuck his tongue out at Garp and jumped into his brother-father's lap. "So, Ace, Zoro, and I can stay in our usual room right? It's still free?"

The fleet admiral nodded. "It's free. Helmeppo even took the liberty of painting your names on the door, more to scare his apprentices than anything else."

Ace face-palmed. Who in the world would believe that the king of the pirates and his first mate had a regular room at marine headquarters? And yet, it somehow seemed perfectly understandable in the presence of Luffy. This life was certainly going to be interesting, if nothing else.


	3. Chapter 3

It was his first time in this life back on Dawn Island- Luffy's crew rarely visited the East Blue, and when they did, it was mostly to see Aunt Kaya. Ace shook his head with a smile, wondering at how easy it was to think of his brother-father's nakama as his family. After all these years, he'd even gotten used to calling Luffy Dad instead of Lu. Straw Hat logic was a wonderful thing.

The reincarnated pirate tied his little boat to the dock. In a few days he would be setting off on a new pirate journey; it was only right that he did so from the same place he'd started his last -violently interrupted- one. But there were a few things he had to do beforehand.

First stop, Mount Corvo.

Or not. As he was passing Party's Bar, Ace saw a familiar top hat encircled with goggles. Grinning as only a D could, he wandered in and sat beside the blue revolutionary.

"Hey Uncle Sabo."

"Knew you'd be here eventually." The blond finished his drink and waved to the little old lady behind the bar. "Makino! Come meet Lu's little guy!"

"Luffy's? Are you sure?" Despite the grey hair and wrinkles, Makino was just as Ace remembered her. She wandered over to their table, absently cleaning a glass as she looked around. There were no other customers in sight. "He looks more like Ace than like Luffy."

Ace bowed. "Monkey D Ace, at your service. Dad tells me you used to look after him when he was little?"

"He sounds more like Ace too," Makino giggled. "Yes dear, I kept an eye on your father- as much as anyone can. Might I ask what you're doing here without him? Our little pirate king owes me a visit."

"I'll tell him next time I see him." Ace pushed his hat out of his eyes. It was still a little too big; Zoro's marimo genes had yet to overcome Luffy's midget ones. The reincarnated pirate was still quite a bit smaller than he had been in his last life. "As for me, I'm here to start my own adventure."

"It must run in the family."

"You have no idea. Just have a few people I've gotta see first."

"I see..." Makino finished cleaning the glass and set it on a shelf. Then she sighed. "Ace, when you leave, could you do something for me?"

"Huh?" Ace had never claimed to be elegant, in either life.

"Take Aragorn with you. He's... I know he'd never admit it, but he's not happy here. Too much of his father's blood in him to stay on dry land."

Ace flinched at the words before remembering who Aragorn was. _Right, Makino's son. Born during the two years of separation; father unconfirmed, but presumed to be Akagami Shanks._ Ace frowned.

"You sure he'll be okay taking orders from someone almost ten years younger?"

"If you're anything like your father, he'll be fine with it. Although, I must admit, you remind me far more of your uncle. All you're missing are the freckles."

"And six inches of height," Ace muttered. Makino's eyes widened.

"Wait... _Ace_ Ace?"

Sabo burst out laughing. "Gods of the sea! I need to start taking bets on when people figure it out!"

Bopping his brother-uncle on the head, Ace stared at Makino in confusion. "How'd you figure it out? Am I that obvious? Shit."

"Language!" That chiding tone was familiar. Ace sunk into his chair, suitably cowed. Makino poked him in the forehead with a smile. "And no, you're not obvious about it. But your desire to start from here... Knowing how tall this 'uncle' was when there's no way you could have met him- and being resentful about being shorter... Oh well, it's the sort of thing I would expect when Luffy's involved."

"I guess..." Ace snickered and smiled fondly. "Mystery souls, eh?"

Makino nodded. "Mystery souls. In that case, I take it you're going to visit Dadan?"

"He- I mean, of course!"

"Do me another favour then? Take Sabo with you. He's never actually been back to visit her."

Ace blinked at Makino in confusion. "Wait... Seeing us both at once might give her a heart attack! When did you get so mean?"

"Trust me, Ace, it's not mean at all. What could a mother want more than to see her children alive and well?"

 **xXx**

The trek up Mount Corvo was longer than Ace remembered- mostly because he was dragging a reluctant revolutionary. But Sabo hadn't been able to come up with any good reasons for having avoided Dadan for more than thirty years (Okay, twenty, if you allowed the amnesia as a valid excuse.), so no way was Ace releasing him. And unlike when Ace had been in a child's body, Sabo could no longer escape his hold. Between haki, D stubbornness, and marimo strength, Ace was more than capable of ignoring the taller man's resistance.

Pipes to the head still hurt though. Damn, Ace missed being a logia.

Finding the bandits' cabin exactly where it used to be, Ace knocked on the door with his foot. A familiar tiny figure opened it. The reincarnated pirate smiled.

"Hey Dogra. We're here to see Dadan."

"You can't make me!" Sabo tried to escape by turning into fire. Ace smacked him with busoshoku haki and tugged his hair. Sabo stuck his tongue out and winced.

Dogra made little squeaking noises.

A loud voice exploded from inside the cabin. "Dogra! If you're just gonna freeze like an idiot turkey, let someone else get the damn door!"

Hands the size of dinner plates shoved the short bandit out of the way. A tangled cloud of grey hair appeared in the doorway, still shot through with occasional streaks of red. One of the manliest faces Ace had ever seen contorted from anger to shock.

"Oi, Dogra! If you're squeakin like that, does that mean I ain't imaginin this?"

No response. The smallest bandit may as well have been catatonic. Dadan sighed; Ace grinned. He watched in amusement as her eyes flicked from him to Sabo and back, over and over. Then she shook her head.

"I dunno who you brats think you are, but this ain't funny. You've got ten seconds to scram before I kick your scrawny asses to Reverse Mountain."

Ace's grin widened until it made him look more like Luffy than his old self. Truly, there was no mistaking the parentage of his current body. "I'm Monkey D Ace. Nice to meet you Dadan."

The bandit's rage deflated, to be replaced by a look of defeat. "Oh. Did your brat majesty father tell you to come here? Cos we ain't up for raisin any more stupid D kids."

One hand still holding Sabo from running away, Ace launched a kick at Dadan's face. "Don't call Luffy stupid! Only his big brothers can do that!"

His kick was blocked- barely- by a massive wooden club. "Brat! You show respect to your elders, hear?! Honestly, it's like you're your brat father's brat brother reborn."

Ace blinked; Sabo howled. The blond laughed so hard he was losing control of his fire, sending little spurts of flame into the air with every movement.

"HeheheHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is GOLD! I can't believe DADAN of all people figured it out so quickly!"

"Huh?" Dadan cocked her head at Ace. "Oi brat, I don't know where you got your Sabo look-alike, but I think he's broken."

"Nah, Sabo's fine. He just thinks you know something you don't and it's driving him over the edge."

"Wait _Sabo_?! As in, _Sabo_ Sabo?"

Grinning, Ace nodded. "Yeah. He didn't die when the Tenryuubito blew up his ship; Dragon rescued him. He just felt like being _an asshole_ and not contacting anyone for years."

"I had amnesia!" Sabo stopped laughing to swat Ace over the head. "How could I contact people I didn't know existed?! And given _why_ I got my memories back, I almost wish I didn't!"

"Don't say that!" Ace swatted Sabo right back. "Luffy needed you!"

"He wouldn't have needed me if you hadn't _died in his arms_ , inconsiderate midget!"

"I was taller then! And he's always needed both of us! You _know_ how hopeless he is!"

Sabo stuck out his tongue. "I'm actually taller than you ever were, jerk. And Lu's not hopeless anymore. You should know; you just spent ten years sailing with him."

"And he was still as hopeless as ever! I'm starting to think idiocy is a job requirement for being pirate king!"

"What does that say about you? You've been the pirate prince twice."

"Don't remind me..."

By this point, Dadan was letting out the same little distressed squeaks as Dogra. Ace and Sabo stopped fighting to smile at the bandits. After a moment of nothing but squeaks, Ace sighed and took his hat off, running a hand through his hair. He figured he better explain before Dadan's brain melted or something.

"So, yeah, I actually _was_ reincarnated as my own little brother's son. Weird, huh? Miss my freckles though; instead, this time I got my marimo dad's nonsense of direction. Surprised?"

Tears. Ace was stunned. He couldn't remember ever having seen Dadan cry before. Faster than he could react, her arms were around him and Sabo. Hot tears soaked into black hair. Ace was suddenly glad he hadn't come back here as a child. If he had, Dadan's hug likely would have crushed him.

"You're alive!" Her sobbing was loud enough to wake the dead (And Brook was a really heavy sleeper. Ace paled as he made the internal skull joke; Luffy's crew really rubbed off on people, didn't they?). "All three of you! My brats are alive!"

Face mashed into Ace's shoulder, Sabo was sobbing too. "Of course we are! Did you think something like death would stop us? And since when are we your brats?"

"You became my brat the mornin I found you sleeping between Ace and Luffy, Blondie. Deal with it, yeah?"

Something warm ran down Ace's cheeks. His eyes burned. _Damn, not Lu's crybaby genes again_. Ace hid his face in Dadan's shirt so no one could see his tears. Not that he was fooling anyone. Hell, at this point, he could barely pretend to himself that they didn't know he was crying.

"Emotional old hag! Thank you... for loving us. Even if you were right weird about it."

"Idiot brat. That's what mums do."

"Wouldn't know. Didn't really have one in either life."

"Of course you did brat! Of course you did..."


	4. Chapter 4

Aragorn was a tall young man with red hair and Makino's gentle smile. Ace beamed as they were introduced; the redhead shot him a dubious look. "Mum, are you sure this's a good idea?"

"Ara.. I've seen how you look at the sea. It's your father's blood; you won't be happy staying here your whole life."

"But what about you? And the bar?"

"I'll manage." Makino laughed and reached up to pat her son's head. "I looked after that bar alone most of my life, doing it some more won't hurt me. At least if you're with Ace I know you're in good hands."

The redhead frowned. "Mum, he's seventeen. I'm nine and a half years older than he is!"

Ace frowned right back. "My dad's the pirate king and his oldest crew member is seventy one years older than he is. Age doesn't mean shit."

That earned a look of shock from Aragorn. "You're Straw Hat's son? Really? Does... does that mean you've met Red-Hair too?"

"Of course!" Ace laughed. "Uncle Shanks would visit for a party at least once a month; used to tell me all kinds of stories about when Dad was little."

Aragorn gripped the hilt of the sabre hanging at his waist. "I- I'd like to meet him. I have something I need to ask Red-Hair, but he hasn't visited in years. I only ever saw him once."

"Well then, I'll make sure we track him down as fast as possible. Shouldn't be too hard." Ace held out a hand. "Of course, we'll need a ship and a crew first. Uncle Shanks spends most of his time in the New World, so my little skiff won't cut it. What do you say?"

"I say you've got yourself a first mate, _Captain_." Aragorn smirked and grabbed Ace's hand with his own larger, calloused one. "Where do we start?"

 **xXx**

To be fair, Ace hadn't _meant_ to run the skiff aground on a rocky atoll in the middle of nowhere. It was just, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to shake whatever it was that kept getting him lost. North always seemed to be left of where he thought it was; sometimes he could've sworn the sun was rising in the south-west. It was incredibly frustrating that _that_ was what he got from Zoro. Ace would've preferred the green hair or the perpetually grumpy eyebrows to his marimo dad's nonsense of direction.

The only reason he'd actually been able to make it to Foosha in the first place was that Nami knew how to compensate. She'd somehow figured out what set of wrong instructions would get a wandering marimo where they needed to go.

Aragorn glared at him. "So Captain, care to explain? Because this rock wasn't here when I was steering _less than twenty minutes ago!_ "

"Heh..." Ace rubbed the back of his head. "Um, it's a family thing. My sense of direction is bad- like, really bad. Pa can get lost so badly he defies reality; I don't think I've done that yet, but Uncle Sanji says it's only a matter of time."

The redhead groaned. "Once we find our way off this rock and get a navigator, I'm never letting you steer again."

"Agreed."

Luckily they had a few supplies. It was two days before they saw a boat on the horizon. Ace immediately jumped to his feet and started shouting, waving his arms and bellowing like the D he was. Aragorn winced and covered his ears. The loud monkey dance worked though; the boat turned in their direction after a couple of minutes.

It turned out to be a dory barely larger than Ace's skiff. Two boys were sailing it, both about the same age as the young captain. Both wore long blue jackets and red bandannas that made them look like gangsters; they also both had short, dark hair. The boy steering the dory carried two swords, while the other had several guns of assorted sizes. The gun wielder dropped a messy sheaf of papers as they came up beside the rock.

"Holy crap Davy! That's 'Lost Boy' Ace, son of the pirate king!"

"Really? All the way out here in the East Blue?" The second boy grabbed one of the papers- bounty posters- to confirm. "Wow, you're right Indy. Who'd have thought? A supernova in the weakest of the seas. This could be our big chance!"

The swordsman- Davy- drew his blades and charged Ace. Steel met steel as the young captain whipped out his pipe. Ace growled. "Seriously? Bounty hunters? Someone up there hates me!"

A bullet whizzed by his head, nearly hitting Aragorn. This made Ace livid. He swiftly gave the pair of bounty hunters a royal beating for attacking his crew mate. Kneeling bloody on the beach, they looked at each other as they raised their arms to protect their heads.

"Wait... Davy, didn't Pops say he and Uncle Yosaku worked with the pirate king once?"

"Yeah. They helped him save Aunt Nojiko's village from Arlong."

"Then should we really be going after his son? He doesn't sound like a bad guy."

"But think of all the money we'd get! A supernova, Indy, a supernova. We'd be set for a year at least."

Ace waved his pipe threateningly. "What the Hell are you idiots talking about?"

The two bounty hunters smiled and threw an arm over each others' shoulders. "We're Indy and Davy, sons of Johnny the Hopeless Bounty Hunter! Sorry we came after you; we forgot that Pops is friends with your dad."

"Huh?" Ace stared at the pair, confused by their change of attitude. They really shouldn't be trying to make a life at sea wit such poor information and weak resolve. "Wait, the Johnny and Yosaku who led Dad to the Baratie?"

"Yep!"

"Really... Huh. Either of you a navigator?"

"Davy is," Indy offered. "We knew we at least needed to know that much. He does navigation, I do the rigging. We've gotten by alright that way. Why?"

Ace smirked. "As an apology for attacking us, how about you get Aragorn and me to the nearest port?"

"Of course Ace-aniki!"

None of the four could quite explain what happened after that. They got to the port with no problem; after that, things got weird. Ace and Aragorn were both broke, so they pulled a dine and dash before stealing a small clipper. Only, somehow Indy and Davy ended up helping them fight off angry townsfolk as they were disembarking and ended up on board. Ace raised an eyebrow at the pair.

"So, what was that all about? I could've driven them off myself."

"We're not sure either," Indy said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I think they thought we were with you."

"Well, you are now. They'll tell the marines, so I doubt bounty hunting will be all that easy now. Idiots."

Davy shrugged. "It could be worse."

Sighing, Ace ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I suppose it could. Welcome to the Spade Pirates. At least we have a navigator now."

Aragorn nodded. "And the first rule on this crew is this: never let the captain steer. Just trust me on this."

"Of course Aragorn-aniki!"

 **xXx**

They stopped to resupply in Cocoyashi Village. Nojiko met them at the docks; her immediate reaction upon seeing Indy and Davy was to hit them over their heads with a broom. "You boys! What were you thinking! Getting involved with pirates and stealing a clipper? You're lucky there's no marine base here!"

"It could be worse!" Indy protested, rubbing his head. "It's just Ace-aniki; he's a good pirate at least."

Nojiko looked at Ace and Aragorn. "Oh. Monkey D Ace, right? That's okay then. I guess if my nephews are gonna be pirates, I'd prefer it was with you."

"Pirates?!" a voice shrieked from the tangerine trees. "Are they like Aunt Nami?!" A girl with bright purple hair tore out of the trees, racing excitedly to Nojiko's side. The woman laughed and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Yes, they're like Aunt Nami. That one there is the son of your aunt's captain."

The girl looked at Ace skeptically. "You sure Ma? He looks a little young to be a pirate."

Ace huffed. "I'm the same age Dad was when he started. Monkey D Ace, future king of the pirates- as soon as I can beat Dad anyway." Which could take years given how strong Luffy had gotten. As a brother Ace was incredibly proud; as a son he had a lot to live up to.

"Yuki, daughter of Nojiko and Yosaku." The little girl had quite the grip. Although Ace supposed she wasn't _that_ little- probably a year or two younger than him. "I want to be a pirate like Aunt Nami, but Ma says it's too dangerous."

"It can be," Ace agreed with a chuckle. "But it's worth it. As long as you're free and have your nakama by you're side, there's nothing better in the world."

Nojiko groaned. "Don't encourage her. It's bad enough she convinced Genzo to teach her archery and knife work... I won't have my little girl running out to sea." The lilac-haired woman quickly composed herself. "As for you four, Genzo and I already have supplies ready. Luffy called and told us to expect you."

"Of course he did." Ace smiled and sent Aragorn, Indy, and Davy ahead to start bringing stuff to the ship while he looked to Yuki. He lowered his voice as far as he could so Nojiko wouldn't overhear. "I'm not encouraging you to become a pirate, but if you happen to stow away on the _Rebellion_ , I won't bring you back to your mom."

Yuki grinned and nodded. "I can cook," she offered before leaving, most probably to pack herself a sea bag. Ace smirked.

"Excellent."

 **xXx**

They raised their flag for the first time as they left Cocoyashi- a grinning skull with a spade behind it, wearing Ace's hat. The little captain was proud, though he couldn't help feeling that there was something missing. His last flag had shown the flames of his Devil Fruit; he needed something like that on this one. Oh well, maybe he would find an acceptable substitute for the Mera-Mera no Mi somewhere on his journey.

Not long after Yuki deemed it safe to come out of hiding, Indy called out that he saw a wreck off to port. The Spades approached, wondering who'd been wrecked. What they did would depend on who was there: if it was a marine ship or other pirates they would probably leave it, but they were willing to rescue civilians.

It was none of those. The remains of a huge ship floated in the water, a tattered World Government flag clearly visible. Several Tenryuubito and servants clung to scraps of wood, though the nobles made sure they had those that were larger and looked to float longer. Several obnoxious voices began shouting as the Spades approached.

"You! Pirates! I demand you save me!"

"No, save me!"

"If you save me first I'll reward you handsomely in Mariejois!"

Ace glared down at the bubble-headed prats. His eyes softened when he saw a couple of slave children clinging to a slowly sinking piece of mast. "Indy! Throw a rope to those two kids! If any of the nobles tries to climb aboard, shoot them."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"We're gods! How dare you save those commoner beasts before us?!"

"Shut up." Ace released a tiny touch of Haoshoku Haki. "You clearly don't know who you're dealing with here. My name's Monkey D Ace and even if I didn't have my own reasons to see you drown, Grandpa would never forgive me if I helped Tenryuubito."

Mentioning Dragon was exactly the motivation the nobles needed to be quiet. None of them made a move as the Spades brought the two slave children aboard and turned to sail away. Ace was tempted to have Indy shoot the pompous rats anyway, but he restrained himself. The gunner was low on ammo; it wouldn't do to waste any on slime that would drown soon enough.

The young captain quickly broke the collars and shackles off the children and threw the offending things away before they could explode. He smiled and ruffled their hair- or rather, the girl's hair and the fish-boy's floppy fin things. "It's okay, you're safe now. Can you tell me your names?"

"Mera." Well, it certainly went with her flaming hair.

"Comoro." Ace wondered what kind of fishman Comoro was. Something ancient it looked like; maybe a coelacanth. The young captain smiled at the children.

"Well Mera, Comoro, we're heading for Loguetown right now. I know you have reasons not to trust the marines, but there's an admiral there who will hide you from the Tenryuubito if we ask him. Smokey may have a thing for coming after me and my dad, but he'd never let anyone hurt a kid."

The children nodded. Then Mera hesitantly tugged the hem of Ace's shorts. "Um... Ace-nii? Do you have a flute I can play? It's just, Comoro'n me are really scared right now and music always seems to calm him down..."

Ace patted her head, inwardly glowing at being called brother. It had been so long... He turned and shouted at his crew mates. "Oi! We have a flute or something anywhere?"

He was answered by one being tossed at his head by Yuki. "Here. Ma packed it in your provisions by accident."

It was a hand-carved wooden thing, probably not tuned well. Still, from the way Mera held it, you'd think the little flute had been made of solid gold by an angel. She immediately started to play a familiar tune that soon had the whole crew singing along. Comoro didn't join in, but a smile slowly formed on his face as he bounced gently from side to side.

 _"Making a delivery, bringing it across the sea_

 _Bink's sake in the hold as we sail through the breeze_

 _Far across the eye can see, the sun is shining merrily_

 _As the birds fly in the sky as they sing out with glee..."_

...Maybe the kids would be safer with him? Ace was torn on the subject. He knew that most pirate ships weren't the sort of place you wanted to keep children, but surely it was better than risking them being recaptured by the Tenryuubito. After all, if anyone knew about child-proofing a ship, it was Ace. He'd started sailing with Luffy at seven in this life after all; Mera and Comoro looked about that age. It should be alright.

He really wanted to be called big brother again.

 **xXx**

Ace met the man he wanted for his crew's doctor in the Gold Roger Bar. The young captain was doing his best to avoid being noticed by Smoker while his crew mates stocked up- he was the only one with a price on his head, despite the report that had gone out when Indy and Davy joined.

His first instinct had been to order rum. A pirate bar wasn't the sort of place that usually cared about age, after all. Before he could though, a large hand slid a glass of milk in front of him. "That'll do more for you than alcohol will kid. You look like you're about due for a growth spurt, so you need all the help you can get."

About to argue, Ace turned to the stranger beside him only to have any words die in his throat. The man looked like a blond Zoro, although with a more jovial face. His profession was obvious from the white coat he wore- his Devil Fruit was also obvious, though in that case it was the fluffy ears and tail. Noticing the direction of Ace, gaze, the doctor laughed.

"Inu-Inu no Mi: Model Corgi. Not a horribly useful fruit, but it helps when dealing with kids. They always want to pet the puppy. Name's Tabbart."

"Ace." The young captain downed his milk, never one to waste food of any sort. "If you don't mind me asking, what's a doctor doing in a lace like this? Usually people like you go to the bars uptown."

Tabbart laughed. "Indeed! But most doctors don't have their ex-wife searching for them all over this damn rock. Divorced three years and she's still after my money; can't seem to get it through her head that I don't have much."

That was all it took for Ace to have the man pegged. Doctors were always in high demand; a doctor without money was either a pirate or treated people even if they couldn't afford it. Like Sanji with people who needed food. Since he was willing to buy milk for a kid he hadn't really met, Ace would bet anything Tabbart was the second kind. But maybe he could be converted...

"Ever tried going to another island to escape her?" the pirate asked, ordering three meals from the barkeeper. Tabbart snorted.

"Three times. I'd have to go to the Grand Line to lose the woman! She's that persistent."

Ace grinned. "Well, my crew's headed for the Grand Line as soon as we're stocked up. If you want to try..."

"Mahahaha!" Tabbart's laugh shook the bar. He slapped Ace heavily on the back. "I might just take you up on that. You're one of those adventurer pirates, right? The ones who're made of nothing but well-meaning trouble magnets? Your crew could probably use a doctor."

Thinking back to the day before, Ace nodded his agreement. Davy was a great navigator and a decent swordsman, but as soon as his hands were anywhere but the wheel or the hilts of his blades, he turned into the biggest klutz imaginable. Ace did _not_ want to know how Davy had managed to burn his forehead by raising the anchor. "Yeah, I'd like to have one before we get to the Grand Line, otherwise we might lose my navigator."

"Is he sick?"

"No. Just clumsy."

Ace wolfed down his food when it arrived, Tabbart eating more sedately beside him. The young captain found himself telling the doctor about the Straw Hat pirates and his goal of out-doing Luffy. It seemed the right course of action- by the time they were both done, Tabbart was ready to at least give the Spades a try. The pair wandered over to the room the doctor was renting to gather his things and take them back to the _Rebellion_.

Smoker found them just as the crew regrouped. He chased them all the way to their ship, ranting about the difficulties their family made for hardworking admirals. The Spades escaped in a way that must have seemed awfully familiar to the smoke man- just as he was about to grab Ace, a hand shot out of an alley. A cloaked man appeared between the admiral and his prey, stalling Smoker long enough for the Spades to get away.

Ace grinned over his shoulder. "Thanks Gramps!"

Smoker growled. "Dragon! Why do you keep doing this? You're interfering with my job."

"And you keep interfering with my family, so I'm afraid we're at an impasse."

 **xXx**

One thing Ace had been afraid of when he started his second journey was that he would have to wait for Water 7 to get a decent shipwright. He'd been resigned to losing the _Rebellion_ the way Luffy had lost the _Going Merry_ , although hopefully without having to fight his gunner. It would've been a pity too; the clipper was faster than anything Ace had sailed bar his old _Striker_. It really was a wonderful little ship. Took Reverse Mountain like a champ.

At least they didn't hit Laboon coming down. Frequent visits from Brook had calmed the whale down, so he no longer blocked the way and bashed his head into the mountain. Instead a happy song greeted Ace as the Spades sailed up alongside Laboon's massive bulk. The young captain smiled and reached out to stroke the whale's head.

"I know, I know, I missed you too. But I've got my own journey down the Grand Line to see through. I'll come back and see you later, 'kay?"

"Bwaoh!"

They anchored that night at the lighthouse. Old Crocus was there as always; he had a letter from Luffy for Ace. Mostly it was a reminder not to pick the Whiskey Peak field so they wouldn't have the same adventures. Ace snorted at that. As if he would want to be anywhere near that route; he'd been back along it plenty of times when the Straw Hats went to visit Alabasta.

There was a young woman staying at the lighthouse at the same time. She looked vaguely familiar, but Ace paid her no mind. At least not until she randomly shrieked and hit him over the head with a belaying pin. "There you are! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?!"

"Ow! What was that for?" Ace froze. "Wait... I know you from somewhere..."

"Of course you do!" The blonde woman hit him with the belaying pin again. "We met when your father came to Water 7 to party with Galley-La, remember? Or did you get Straw Hat's brains along with Pirate Hunter's nonsense of direction?"

"Ouch! Quit that!"

All the Spades were staring as their captain cringed away from the crazy woman. Mera and Comoro hid behind Tabbart. It was Aragorn who eventually worked up the courage to speak. "Um, Captain, how do you know her exactly?"

"Ah!" Ace dodged a rope that whipped out at his ankle. "This is Calenthe. Her father Paulie is the vice-president of Galley-La, a shipbuilding company in Water 7. I have no idea what she's doing _here_ though."

Calenthe snorted. "Daddy and Uncle Iceberg got a call from Cyborg asking them to send a shipwright to meet you. Apparently the pervert doesn't trust you to know how to look after a boat. So, what've you got? Have you wrecked it yet?"

Ace reluctantly showed Calenthe the _Rebellion_ , which ended with her moving into the girls' cabin with Yuki and Mera. Before that, though, the shipwright gushed over the little clipper. She ran her hands over the rails and the figurehead, praising the ship and telling it how fast and beautiful it was and how sorry she was for leaving it in the hands of these men for so long. "If I'd known Lost Boy had a beauty like you I would've come faster, sweet thing. But don't worry, I'm here now. I promise I'll take good care of you."

Indy and Davy looked at Ace. "Is she always like this?"

"Yep. You shoulda seen her when Uncle Franky showed her the _Sunny_ for the first time. It looked like she wanted to marry it."

Aragorn shot a dubious look at the shipwright, who was currently in the water examining and stroking the _Rebellion_ 's hull. "Don't give her ideas, or she might try it with this one."

 **A/N: And so we have the story of how reincarnated Ace assembles his new Spade Pirates. And yes, Aragorn got his name as a roundabout Lord of the Rings joke. See, in LotR Aragorn, or Strider, is also called Longshanks by someone at some point. So, bad Shanks joke. *dies of embarrassment***


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this one. Sorry... Some friends and I have a massive self-insert AU we're working on together that's sort of become my baby. I'll try not to forget about this one for so long again... Gomen...**

"Yuki-nee... Where are Ace-nii's pants?"

That certainly wasn't what Ace expected to hear as he was waking up in the morning. Yes, his crew had partied hard the night before, but surely not _that_ hard. Then again, he did appear to be draped over a barrel with one hand resting in a bowl of ranch dip. Screw being normal; in his last life he'd been able to burn off the alcohol in his system with the Mera-Mera no Mi. It had been years since he'd _been able_ to get that drunk. Scraping his woolly tongue against his teeth, Ace decided that he needed to find a Devil Fruit stat.

Opening his eyes, Ace met the stares of his three female crew mates with a bleary gaze. "Morning..."

Mera squeaked and covered her eyes as he moved; Yuki flushed and looked away. Swinging her belaying pin threateningly, Calenthe scowled. "Lost Boy, you know I couldn't care less about what you get up too when the night gets cold. But if it leads to you _sitting your naked ass on the deck of my Precious_ , we will have words."

"I swear this isn't what it looks like!" Ace jumped to his feet, which only made things worse. His towering blonde shipwright whipped out a sheet and had it wrapped around him faster than he could say One Piece, binding his limbs to his sides and protecting the innocent eyes aboard.

"OH REALLY?! BECAUSE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IS THAT YOU WERE SLEEPING ON DECK WITH NO CLOTHES ON! WHERE ANYONE COULD SEE YOU! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!" Calenthe rapped him over the head with her belaying pin- twice for good measure.

"Oww!" Ace ripped one arm free to rub his head. "Hey, I didn't plan this, alright? I swear I was wearing pants when I went to sleep."

"A likely story."

"I was!"

"THEN WHERE DID THEY GO DIPSHIT?"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?" By now Ace and Calenthe were pressed nose to nose as they screamed at each other. Mera squeaked and hid behind Yuki. The commotion drew Davy and Indy from the men's cabin, as well as Aragorn from the crow's nest. Comoro appeared from somewhere in the vicinity of the head, only to immediately cling to Mera because of all the shouting. The fish-boy buried his face in his friend's shirt.

Ace immediately forced himself to calm down. If there was one thing he hated, it was scaring kids. "Sorry guys. I didn't mean to yell."

"BUT I DID! AND I WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO UNTIL OUR IDIOT CAPTAIN GETS SOME BLOODY PANTS ON!"

"Yeah, yeah, just relax. I'm going." Somewhat hindered by the sheet wrapped around him, Ace made his way to the men's cabin. As usual, the place was a total mess. Davy was a klutz and Indy was a slob; between them the brothers had clothing and broken knick-knacks strewn everywhere. Tabbart actually refused to set foot in the place, preferring to sleep in a small cabin off the infirmary.

In all the mess, it wasn't surprising that Ace failed to immediately find a pair of pants- of his pants at least. When even a thorough search failed to turn up anything though, Ace grew concerned. He was sure he had more than one pair of pants. Borrowing some of Davy's black slacks, the reincarnated pirate made his way back out on deck. "Guys, I think we have a stowaway."

"What makes you think that?" Aragorn asked with a raised eyebrow. "Unlike the rest of you, I was on watch all night. I can guarantee that no ships of any size have approached us; there's no way a stowaway could've gotten here."

Everyone stared at the first mate, dumbstruck. "How were you able to stay awake after last night?" Yuki asked in awe. "Indy, Davy, and I were so far gone that we thought we were in Skypeia."

Aragorn shrugged. "My mother is a barkeeper and my father's the party-happy 'roaming emperor.' I inherited an amazing tolerance for alcohol."

Yuki whistled. "I wonder who'd win in a drinking contest- you or Aunt Nami."

Waving his arms, Ace brought attention back to the matter at hand. "Guys, focus. Someone got on our ship somehow and stole all my clothes. If we don't get them back soon, Calenthe's gonna brain me. We need ideas people!"

Slowly, Indy raised a hand. "I saw a ship last night. They didn't come close, but they were there for a while. Aragorn-aniki was in the head the whole time... Why were you in there so long anyway?"

"Because _someone_ forgot I'm allergic to peppers." The first mate shot the cook a dirty look. Yuki giggled sheepishly.

"Sorry..."

A hollow thud sounded as Calenthe brought her belaying pin down on the gunner's head. "IF YOU SAW A SHIP COME THAT CLOSE LAST NIGHT, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING?! WHAT IF THEY'D ATTACKED US?!"

"Oww..." Indy rubbed his bruised skull. "I didn't trust my eyes, alright? Like Yuki said, I was well past three sheets tot eh wind last night. Plus, it was such a weird ship... How was I supposed to know it was real?"

Weird ship... That could describe a lot of crews Ace knew of, both pirate and marine. "What did the ship look like?"

"Big, colourful... Figurehead looked like a smiling boy in a straw hat, there was a ram carved into the base of the mast, and the sails were obnoxiously green." Indy edged out of Calenthe's reach. This caused him to back into Tabbart, who had appeared out of nowhere. For such a big guy the doctor was absurdly quiet.

"Do you need me to look at those lumps Indy?"

"Eep! No, I'm alright. I've had worse."

The ship description was enough for Ace. He groaned, palm meeting face with a resounding smack. "Of course... Where's our den-den mushi? I've got an idiot to call."

"You know who the thief is Ace-nii?" Mera asked as she ran to get the snail. Ace nodded.

"Yeah... I can't believe he'd pull something like this though. At least, not to me. Dad maybe..." It took a moment for Ace to remember the number. While he'd spoken to Bartolomeo many times in the past it was usually the rooster-head calling the Straw Hats, not the other way around.

Puru-puru-puru-puru. Ka-clik! Ace didn't wait for the person on the other end to start speaking. "UNCLE BARTO, YOU ROOSTER-HAIRED SHIT! WHY THE HELL'D YOU TAKE MY PANTS?! YOU GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW YOU NAUSEATING, BACK-STABBING SPIT-WEASEL!"

Ace hung up before Bartolomeo could answer. He knew the older pirate hadn't gone far; Barto's creepy obsession with all things Straw Hat wouldn't let him leave without seeing Ace's new crew. He was one of the allies who had been left out of the loop as far as Ace's reincarnation was concerned; the little pirate didn't want to know what the rooster-head would've done if he'd learned that the "adorable Acey-kun" he babysat once was also the same as the "great Portgas D Ace-sama" he practically worshipped. Not that it would've been bad. Bartolomeo was one of their more violent allies, yes, but he would never endanger another member of the fleet. No, the reason Ace didn't want to know how the rooster-head would react was because the man had no sense of dignity whatsoever. He would probably embarrass himself, and the fleet as a whole.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the _Going Luffy-Senpai_ appeared on the horizon. As soon as the larger ship pulled up alongside, Ace leapt up on the rail of the _Rebellion_ to better scream at the barrier-wielding menace. Bartolomeo was snickering as he looked down at the Spades.

"Nice crew you've got Acey-kun, but they could use a little work dabe. Last night was a test to see if they're worthy of becoming part of Luffy-senpai's armada. They all failed!"

"We're not joining Dad's armada Rooster-Face! I'm gonna have my own adventures and when I'm strong enough, I'll beat Dad and become the next king of the pirates!"

Bartolomeo jumped down to pat Ace on the head. "Keep telling yourself that Acey-kun. No man alive can beat Luffy-senpai, not even his own son dabe."

"His big brother can..." Ace pouted, crossing his arms. Bartolomeo shook his head.

"Hehahahaha! No, not even Sabo-sama can beat Luffy-senpai anymore! You should've been there; it was just a few days ago. Sabo-sama was so proud and confused at the same time dabe. It was beautiful."

Ace was struck dumb, his jaw dropping to the deck. He'd never imagined the day when he'd see Luffy beat him or Sabo... and now he'd missed it? That was totally not fair! Before he could gather his wits however, one of his crew mates introduced themselves to Bartolomeo in a most memorable way. That is to say, Calenthe's belaying pin met Bartolomeo's crotch. The rooster-haired pirate went down like a tree.

"YOU SCABBY-ARSED BLADDER-SUCKING COCKROACH! WHAT ON THE SEVEN SEAS MADE YOU DECIDE TO STEAL OUR CAPTAIN'S PANTS?! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO USE YOU FOR CHUM WHEN YUKI AND I GO FISHING TOMORROW!"

Bartolomeo just groaned. It was left to his first mate- beehive-haired Gambia the Missionary- to explain. "The boss just wanted to see Acey-kun off at the start of his journey. We couldn't make it on time to meet you in Loguetown though... Almost got caught in a whirlpool, and it took a while for us to figure out how to get away. Man, I miss being able to call Granny for advice..."

As he often did when thinking about his recently-deceased grandmother, Gambia began to sniffle. He turned away to hide his tears- it was an unspoken but heavily enforced rule of the Barto Club that they never let one of Luffy-senpai's family or core crew see them cry. Although that often resulted in Bartolomeo and other members talking to furniture rather than Luffy himself...

Ace rubbed his head and sighed. "I don't care why you did it, just give me my pants back before my shipwright brains us all."

"Sure thing Acey-kun." Gambia motioned to one of the other members of the thuggish crew. They brought Ace's clothing forward almost reverently. The stack of fabric was folded more neatly than anything anyone on Ace's crew could do- from all their years taking advice from Gambia's grandmother, the Barto Club had excellent housekeeping skills. Ace eyed Indy as he took his clothes back, wondering if he should send his gunner to Bartolomeo for training.

"So... Did you guys have anything in particular in mind, or were you just coming to see me?"

Bartolomeo was immediately on his feet again, though still wincing in pain with every motion. "Can't stay, dabe. Sorry. But cause of that whirlpool Gambia mentioned we're already late for a date with a Tenryuubito ship we've been planning to hit. Gotta get going if we wanna catch em dabe." The rooster-haired pirate jumped back to his own ship before turning to look at Ace. "Oh... There's a pretty huge-ass sea king just moved in around the next island dabe. I don't have time to deal with him either, so be careful Acey-kun."

Grinning, Ace swept his hat off his head in a mocking imitation of one of Sabo's gentlemanly bows. "Careful? I'm always careful Uncle Barto; it's practically my middle name."

"Hehahaha! That sure ain't what D stands for! I've sailed with Luffy-senpai enough to know dabe!"

It wasn't long before the _Going Luffy-Senpai_ dissappeared over the horizon once more. As soon as the Barto Club was out of earshot, Ace's crew sweatdropped. Calenthe shook her head. "You've got some strange friends Lost Boy."

"Oh, hello pot, I'm kettle." Ace supposed he should've expected the belaying pin to the head for that comment. Ah well, worth it.


End file.
